The standard personal introduction of “Hello,” a handshake and maybe an awkward smile is formal and boring. It lacks creativity and intimacy, and Elizabeth Uitvlugt wanted to do something about it.

So, as a senior illustration student graduating from Grand Valley State University this semester, Uitvlugt decided to mix her love of visual and written art to create “Introducing…,” a book of submitted personal introductions.

“I think, how people introduce themselves now, I mean it serves it’s purpose, it’s functional and it gives you very important information about them, but what if you took it a step further and were allowed to get a little more creative with it, in a way that you couldn’t always do with like a business-standard introduction,” she said. “So, I wanted it to be kind of whimsical, I wanted people to have free-reign with it, and even with the introductions, I don’t care if it’s ‘true’ or not, but I think it it’s how you want to present yourself, it comes from a true place.”

She’s accepting submissions until April 17 from anyone who wants to give an introduction, in whatever way they want to. She is then compiling all of them into a book to distribute via mail, amongst everyone who submitted.

“Printing them, that’ll depend entirely on how many submissions I get,” she said. “If it’s few, I might hand-bind them because I think that would be really cool. If it becomes where there’s a lot of submissions, it might be a bit much, in which case, I will look into printing options from local businesses.”

The interactive art idea is coming from her independent study class, during which she experimented with book forms and the idea of how illustration and art is a connecting force. She started the idea after thinking about the art forms for a while, and realizing how much she enjoyed people sending her letters in the mail.

“It’s just a really special feeling, getting a letter, and I feel like a lot of people really like participating and being able to put something out and get something back,” she said. “Where they’re really active in making art.”

Since beginning the project a few weeks ago, she has started accepting submissions by email, as well as regular mail, and now has between 10 and 20 introductions. She said they range in topics and mediums, from photos, to handwritten calligraphy pieces, to simple letters, and even a submission on paper made of elephant waste.

“I guess you can get it at the zoo and different places, but it’s totally, legitimately made out of elephant poop,” she said. “So, I think it’s really cool that they really run the gamut.”

Throughout the process, she has met several people, including a new friend from New York, who she met through a Facebook event for the project. She didn’t have any expectations when starting the project, but is excited about where it has gone and where it is continuing to go.

The final book will only be distributed to those who submitted introductions to keep it a closed circle project, she said. But she encourages everyone to send her an introduction, in whatever medium, whether it is a truthful story, or not.

“I really wanted people to be able to get creative with it, and to feel like they could have free-reign, which granted is a little bit harder to explain, but I think it can be really liberating, too,” she said. “So, I don’t care if people just send like, a scrap of fabric, if they feel like it represents them. And then I would scan the fabric and put that as an image in there.”

To send Uitvlugt introductions, or more information, email her at [email protected].

“It’s really open to whatever, as long as you feel it represents you, and a part of you,” she said.
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